Thinking about how despite the various circumstances and my personal gripes about them, all versions of Athy and Jennette had good relationships with eachother.
I despise Lee Jihye’s treatment and view of those around her, but her and Novel!Jennette’s relationship without her internal monologues and strange intentions were genuinely good and strong enough to where everyone knew them to be best friends, and where Lee Jihye unconsciously looks and asks for Jennette when she’s in public. Manhwa Athy and Manhwa Jennette’s sweet relationship is known and said for. But, LP!Athanasia and LP!Jennette also had a strong and pleasant relationship. If Lee Jihye had her own circumstances for not fully reaching out to Novel!Jennette, LP!Jennette did too with all her knowledge of Claude killing her parents and ruining their images in history forever—but at the very least, in comparison to Lee Jihye, LP!Jennette was constantly making sure LP!Athanasia was ok. If LP!Athanasia had suddenly retreated early or had collapsed, she made sure to check up on her—and from Lee Jihye’s observations, with genuine worry and concern. When she hears that Claude went of his own volition and met with Athanasia, she’s of course shocked but then she genuinely expresses joy at the thought of Claude visiting out of worry for her, and is crestfallen when LP!Athanasia so casually responds how she’s used to Claude not caring about her. Before LP!Ijekiel defends LP!Athanasia, he cuts off LP!Jennette’s own protest against her own aunt, before rambling upsetedly of the fact others are accusing LP!Athanasia of faking her illness for attention.
Because of Lee Jihye temporarily taking the place of LP!Athanasia back and forth, it’s difficult interpreting any more of that level of their relationship on LP!Athanasia’s side, but there’s some sort of nuance when at the end of the Lovely Princess Sidestories arc, LP!Athanasia is awake and both Lee Jihye and her watch as Jennette firmly rebels against Roger and the Bureaucrats. Even though LP!Athy is right there in the same room, they blatantly ask LP!Jennette to take up the roles of firstborn. As LP!Jennette rebukes them, praising LP!Athanasia for her skills and experience while restating to Roger how she never wanted to be Empress in the first place, Lee Jihye comments on LP!Athanasia’s unreadable expression before she leaves with the vassals. You could almost interpret this scene as LP!Jennette rising up against the man who raised her, seeing through his intentions, and defying them as they’ve blatantly disrespected Athanasia‘a authority and birthright. More strange nuance between the girls when LP! Athanasia works within the palace, proving her worth to the nobles while LP!Jen takes care of the unconscious emperor. They have a quiet moment in Claude’s bedroom, both girls exhausted, but rather than speaking about Claude first, they inquire about eachother—about how tired the other must be with the other’s worn and pale complexions. It’s small, a private moment, but there’s this unspoken bond or connection between the girls—as if no one else in the world could share this draining moment of exhaustion and anxiety for eachother and for Claude. When I read this scene, I couldn’t help but think that there’s no way they had a bad relationship. Lee Jihye even describes the girls preforming their duties as harmonious without crossing the other’s boundaries. They were two girls, who despite the various circumstances of their pasts, have a relationship that’s unlike the relationships of Lee Jihye-Novel!Jennette and the Athy and Jennette of the manhwa, but equally as strong and trusting in each other.
